Isaac’s Storm Book Review. History Book Review Assignment.

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August 1, 2020
Isaac’s Storm Book Review
Understanding the relationship between literary texts and the circumstances surrounding its writing is important for any reader. It allows him to be able to discern the influence of external factors in shaping the very theme and story that the author has laid out. In this article, I would focus on understanding both the literary text and personal circumstances of Eirk Larson as he wrote his book Isaac’s Storm. This includes an analysis of the different points that he is trying to make, the themes that he used, and even his way of writing. All in all, the author believes that by looking deeper into how the book was written, the reader would gain a better appreciation of Larson’s work.
Isaac’s Storm
Larson’s story of the Isaac Storm revolves around the life of Isaac Cline and his mistakes during the deadliest ‘Storm of 1900’. Although there are a lot of themes that could be gleaned from the story, it seems that one of the main points that Larson was trying to get across was the dangers of pride and human ego especially when against the forces of nature. As could be seen from the story, Isaac’s pride based on his achievements have caused the death of both his loved ones as well as the “several thousand deaths that occurred in low-lying towns on the mainland” CITATION Lar11 \l 1033 (Larson). In making his point, Larson utilized a lot of vivid imagery and descriptions that illustrated the severity of the injury that the town suffered from Isaac’s fault. He noted how one of the survivor residents “would not eat fish, shrimp, or crabs for several years” due to the number of bodies that have died and disappeared in the waters. It is this use of vivid imagery in relation to the character’s decision that made Larson’s point clear and convincing for the readers.
Accordingly, it could be seen that Larson tried to emphasize that aside from Mother Nature, it was Isaac and his overdependence on technology. On the one hand, it was because of his pride and ego as the chief of the Galveston Weather Station that he failed to listen to the warnings of his own brother. As Larson noted has said, “last turning of the centuries, when the hubris of men led them to believe they could disregard even nature itself” CITATION Lar11 \l 1033 (Larson). This quote simply shows how Isaac’s hubris ...